


Thumbdrew

by shortbreadd



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst, Cursed AU, M/M, inspired by andwewminward's au of thumbthumb andrew, thumbthumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 23:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18537832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortbreadd/pseuds/shortbreadd
Summary: Neil looked up to Andrew’s face- or where his face should be if he had been human. Instead of eyes, nose, and a mouth, a smooth, shiny nail sat. Neil didn’t know how Andrew spoke. He never asked, though. It seemed too personal.or: Thumbdrew fic (Spy kids au-ish)





	Thumbdrew

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andwewminward](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andwewminward/gifts).



Neil took a breath, then pushed open the door to the roof. On the edge, Andrew sat, motionless. He was a little tenser once Neil approached though, and Neil sat down a safe distance away from him. A gravelly voice rang out between them. “What do you want, Neil.” 

Neil looked up to Andrew’s face- or where his face should be if he had been human. Instead of eyes, nose, and a mouth, a smooth, shiny nail sat. Neil didn’t know how Andrew spoke. He never asked, though. It seemed too personal. 

He answered, “I wanted to see what you were doing.” Andrew only shook his head at that, and seemed to gaze off into the distance. To any other, it would as if Andrew was relaxed, calm, but Neil could see the real Andrew underneath. 

His broad shoulders were set, and his arm-thumbs were slightly lifted from their normal positions. Neil scooted another inch closer to Andrew, and when he didn’t tense further, he whispered, “Yes or no?”

When Andrew nodded, Neil put his arm around Andrew’s shoulders. They sat like that for a while, until suddenly, Andrew’s arm started to glow, and gibberish was rattled off from nowhere. Andrew got up immediately, and started to walk off to the door, but before he left, he looked back, and said, “I have summons to kill some stupid spies. I am not going to come back anytime soon.” 

Andrew pushed the door open with his right arm-thumb, and left. Without Andrew at his side, Neil felt the cold air brush up against his bare hands. Andrew was always leaving without warning, called by the mysterious “Nico.” 

Neil wished for a time when he and Andrew could have all the time in the world to just sit on their rooftop, comfortable in each other’s space. 

>>

The next time Neil saw Andrew was fourteen months later. 

Sixty-four stitches later.

Twenty-two murders later. 

And two broken hearts later.

It took a while, but Neil eventually learned to take a step back from Andrew. From love. From life. Nathaniel took a step back from Neil. 

And that was the last time that Neil saw Andrew. 

It hurt, but it was for the best. Andrew wasn’t even human, was he? 

>>

The next time that Nathaniel saw Andrew was four years after he became the Butcher. 

Andrew had defected. 

And Nathaniel hadn’t.

Now the Nico was telling him to terminate Andrew. And Nathaniel was going to do it. 

Nathaniel took out a gun and a stunning bomb. He checked his boots, and counted up to ten in russian, before jumping to Andrew. 

I’m sorry. 

>>

Something was dribbling from Nathaniel’s nose, ears, mouth. 

It wasn’t unpleasant. He heard a buzzing from somewhere. It grew, until nothing else could be heard. 

Then a clang cut through everything. Nathaniel tried to sit up and investigate, but curiously, it felt like he was trying to move through syrup. 

Then something propped him up. 

When Nathaniel caught sight of whoever had helped him up, his heart almost stopped. 

It was Andrew. 

Everything around Nathaniel melted away. 

“Stay here. And don’t think about moving.” 

“Wait, Andrew, but I-” 

Andrew walked away from Nathaniel before he could respond. 

>>

The last time Neil saw Andrew was on the battlefield. 

With a shattered leg and a stab wound through his side. 

Martyr, Andrew had always called Neil. 

And now Andrew was the martyr. 

Neil couldn’t walk anymore. 

A bomb was hooked up to Andrew’s exposed circuits on his arm. 

All the other thumb thumbs were surrounding Andrew, unaware of their impending doom. 

Tears slid down Neil’s face as the countdown started. 

He couldn’t walk anymore. 

He couldn’t run anymore. 

But Neil had promised to Andrew once that he would stop running. And he had, for a little while. But Andrew didn’t know that Neil hadn’t promised to stop running. He’d promised to stop running from Andrew. 

And Neil would always go back to Andrew. 

So he began to slowly, painfully, crawl his way to Andrew. 

>>

Neil finally reached Andrew thirty seconds before the bomb went off. 

He’d never seen Andrew surprised before, but at that moment, when Neil wrapped his hand around Andrew’s still smooth right arm, shock lined every crevice of his body. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Andrew asked. 

And even though it hurt to breathe now; hurt to move, Neil answered. 

“I’m here to stop running, Andrew.” 

00:20

Neil watched as Andrew turned from shocked to angry. 

“Get the fuck away Neil. Neil, you have to run. You are going to die.” He was almost shouting now. 

00:15

“I don’t care, Andrew. I said I’d stop running. I want to stay with you till we die.” Neil whispered. 

“You idiot, we’re both going to die now. What are you going to do then?” Andrew’s voice was shaking with emotion that Neil had never heard before. 

Neil’s vision was fuzzing over now. It was too hard to breathe, so he just nodded his head. 

00:10

He felt arms circle around him, and Neil closed his eyes. 

The beeping from Andrew’s arm turned frantic, and right before the clock turned down to one, Neil gasped out, “I love you.”

00:00


End file.
